Two years ago, I brought little miss NB’s War Paint home from the 2010 Buckeye Bash in Columbus, Ohio. She was bred by my friend Mary McCarty of Novel Beginnings Ferretry in State College, PA. Smudge was born on May 5th, 2009, and has the same daddy (sire) as my late Captain Morgan, who both Smudge and Banshee despised wholeheartedly. She was such a sassy little girl and I was so happy to have her! At the Bash, she practically avoided me the entire time, but fell asleep happily in my friend Chris’ arms. At one point while we were going out for a bite to eat, Smudge escaped her pen, and my friend Renee saw her dart under a bed, thinking she was a rat. Then, the coup-de-grace: she sunk her teeth into my hand and clamped down so hard I thought I might lose my hand to her. Ironically enough, Smudge is now my most cuddly ferret, and loves to be held, tickled, smooched, and snuggled. She is a lovebug if I ever met one.

Along for the ride with Smudge, I brought home my friend Emilee’s boy, PFH’s Le Conte De Graal (Percival.) Percy stayed with me for a few days until Emilee could make it down to me in New Hampshire from Maine to pick him up. Percy was the only ferret in the house that Smudge would get along with, for some reason, and she never ended up integrating into my group. For a brief while she seemed to tolerate sweet Pilot puff, but eventually she frightened poor Pilot and they never got along after that. Once, in an act of desperation, I placed a snoozing Morgan in bed with a snoozing Smudge, and they spooned peacefully for quite some time. Morgan eventually got up to go potty, and never awoke the sleeping beast.

Smudge, in all her loveliness, forced me to create two playgroups, a thing I honestly never thought I’d need to do. My guys were all such welcoming, accepting ferrets, but Smudge wouldn’t have any of it. In the first week I had her back home, she managed to rip open Diesel-Electric’s ear to the point where he formed a nasty hematoma and needed weeks of antibiotics and drains. Rotten Smudge!

Because of Smudge, I finally got a taste of what a privately bred jill could be like – and man, I literally had to re-ferret proof my entire life for her. She got into things my other kids never could get into, and never even thought about getting into. She is an avid climber and because of this, my ferret proofing now had to encompass the entire room, floor to ceiling, and not just wall to wall.

Because she was so difficult to integrate, I eventually decided to stop trying and to bring home her sister, Banshee, so that she’d have a playmate. Smudge and Banshee are best buddies, partners in crime, and the loves of my life!

Happy Gotcha Day, Smudgers.

Poor lonely Smudge

Percy and Smudge playing in a tunnel (if you look closely, you can see Smudge through the tunnel hissing at Percy.)

4 Responses to “Happy Gotcha Day, Smudge!”

I had a “single ferret personality” for several years. It was just Fannie Mae and I until she made the trip to the Rainbow Bridge. Sweet to me and other humans, not so much with other ferrets. She came to me that way from a shelter so it wasn’t a surprise, and we had good times together.

I’m happy she found her forever home where she got to be who she was, even if it meant she was a single lady! Smudge is great with her sister, but she get aggressive and scared with other ferrets, for some reason. Banshee is a bit more outgoing and has on occasion gotten along with Tank and Mudflap, so I was hoping that because of Banshee’s openness, I might be able to slowly introduce the four. So far, no luck – Smudge goes right for the tender ear flaps!!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Note Bene:

Mustelamania and any advice given is for educational purposes only and does not constitute veterinary medicine in any way. Nutrition consults are intended to support well-being and immunity and are not a replacement for veterinary care. If your ferret has a medical condition, please disclose status with Mustelamania/Erinn prior to any nutrition consultations.

Protected by Creative Commons

Disclaimer:

Mustelamania and Erinn are not veterinarians and any advice given is not intended to cure, treat, or diagnose any disease. Advice taken from Mustelamania, from Erinn directly, or from members of the Ferret Harmony Forum is not a replacement for proper care from a licensed veterinarian.